As a key competitive strategy we constantly struggle against in our industry, offshoring has been a largely debated topic in years past. While it is true that offshoring was and, in some part still remains, a competitive option for those in need of services brought about by American manufacturers, this option has grown to have more cons […]

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As a key competitive strategy we constantly struggle against in our industry, offshoring has been a largely debated topic in years past. While it is true that offshoring was and, in some part still remains, a competitive option for those in need of services brought about by American manufacturers, this option has grown to have more cons than pros. As a whole, what was once considered to be an increasingly cost effective option, has now been forecasted to reflect the exact opposite. Because of increased foreign investment over the years, wages for workers around the world have increased as a result. According to a recent study, several economies traditionally regarded as low-cost manufacturing bases (i.e. China, Brazil, etc.) have seen their cost advantages erode significantly since 2004 while US Manufacturing has considerably improved its cost structure. This is good news for national economic supporters as reshoring is starting to be brought back on the table again as a business strategy.

The below infographic, put together with research compiled by West Monroe, debates both options. More specifically, it details why reshoring is starting to become a significant keyword in the playbooks of modern American companies.

Matthew Poole (33) reacts during Tuesday’s Brevard-Pisgah basketball game in Canton. (Photo: SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN-TIMES)

“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.” — John Quincy Adams

In this new blog series, we want to take time to feature one very special member of our World Emblem family. Matthew Poole, the 17 year old son of one of our newest team members, VP of Reseller Sales Scott Poole, has Cerebral Palsy. A condition marked by impaired muscle coordination, Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term that refers to a group of congenital disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. Despite this, Matthew has been noted as one of the most dedicated manager’s Pisgah High School’s basketball team has ever had. In fact, he’s slowly become one of the most popular students at Pisgah High School. “Matthew is as genuine a human being as you can imagine,” Pisgah basketball coach Casey Kruk said. “He wants what is best for everyone, and doesn’t ask a lot in return. He just wants to be part of the team.”

In a heartwarming turn of events, senior Thomas Tatham decided to pass along his chance in the spotlight and give Matthew his spot on the team’s starting lineup. “He’s the most dedicated person we have,” Thomas said. “He supports us 100 percent. No matter what the score is, we know Matthew will be there for us.” At the start of the game on Senior Night, with his team jersey at the ready, Matthew lived up to his acclaim. Commandeering an inspiring speech to his fellow team mates, he went on to successfully score the first basket of his high school basketball game.

In this video you can see the crowd in the game burst into heaps of enthusiasm as Matthew scores the first point of the game; the faces of his team mates simultaneously bursting with joy. This excitement was not reserved for the game alone however. The aftermath of Matthew’s life would grow to become equally as exciting, as local newspapers and news stations eagerly awaited to cover his story. His story has resonated with people in a record way. Now, with a total of 1,000 likes and over 460 shares on Facebook, the video has become the most popular item ever been posted on Pisgah High School’s Facebook page.

The dedication, team work and perseverance Matthew shows has proven to be an inspiration to not only those who are closest to him, but to all those that are made aware of his story. As a company we are touched by his story. As a new addition to our family we want to share his inspiring story with the world in the hopes that it will inspire those enduring difficult struggles to have the courage to persevere in the same light as Matthew.

World Emblem is sending a huge congratulations and best regards to Matthew, whose future is as bright as his personality.

There are hundreds of different ways to use an embroidered, sublimated or digitally printed patch. It’s uses are solely limited by the level of imagination of the actual wearer. Looking for some inspiration? Here are 20 of the several hundred ways you can use a patch, just to get you started:

On military, police, security or fire fighter uniforms

To cover up a direct embroidery logo

On promotional corporate apparel

On a school uniform

On college / university promotional apparel

For a karate club

On restaurant staff uniforms

As handout items for trade shows

For Boy / Girl Scout uiforms

For motorcycle clubs

Heat sealed onto a laptop or tablet case

Personalize your own t-shirts and other apparel

On a purse/tote bag

On a hat / cap

Stuck to your laptop or computer monitor

Customize a pair of jeans

On a smart phone cover

As a piece of art framed on your wall

On a stuffed animal

Pass them out as promotional items at events

Do you know any other ways you can use a patch? Let us know in the comments or through any of our social media channels listed below! Your suggestions could end up on our list in our next blog post!

Months of hard work, long hours and tireless preparation has finally paid off. Orders will now be that much easier to track with our newly upgraded Tracking System!

If you’ve ever had to place an order, especially for some form of production, you know that tracking your order throughout the entire ordering process is not a functionality many places give you. Even when they do, there’s no accounting for accuracy or speed; especially when the dreaded day comes when your order arrives late, incomplete or completely filled with errors. If you’re lucky, you get an email once your order has been shipped with some type of tracking number. That may be fine for the everyday end-buyer; but when your job depends on the effective production and distribution of that particular order, being able to track it throughout every stage is crucial. This is especially true when you consider that from the moment you have relayed payment for your order, that company your purchasing from is now in charge of something that your own work is depending on.

This is why we put such importance on the technology we use to produce your order. With client satisfaction being our number 1 goal, we want to make sure we are providing all of our clientele with the Ultimate Experience throughout every facet of our business.

All of that being said, as a current or potential client, here are 4 reasons why you should care about our new tracking system:

GET LARGER ORDERS QUICKER | By reducing your order’s processing time, simplifying the work flow and replacing obsolete technology, you will see the overall productivity of our company dramatically increase. This increase in productivity means that it will be easier than ever to place and track larger orders.

FASTER TRACKING | This reduced processing time means that you will receive tracking updates quicker and more accurately.

INCREASED SECURITY | Because of increased processing times, your tracking information will not only be relayed much quicker than before, but , consequentially, it will also be that much more accurate and dependable.

SIMPLE USER INTERFACE | Aside from an increase in productivity and speed, this new tracking system will also offer a better integration with our clients’ on-line catalogs. This improved integration means that not only will you get updates on the status of your order faster than before, but accessing the information will be much easier as well.

Tracking is a vital piece of software to any company. This is why we place such a high regard on making sure ours is as optimized as possible. The production capabilities of our company rely on the speed and synchronization at which client orders are processed. With these new updates we hope to provide you as a current or potential client with nothing less than the ultimate experience. In the end, the upgrades we have made will pave the way to successful growth in the near future and open up a whole new world of possibilities for not only us as a company but for all of our valued clientele.

One big thing that separates us from our competitors is our large scale. We have 10 locations in total; 4 of those 6 located internationally. The large number of employees producing large volumes of production orders for a wide variety of clients means that there is a lot of activity happening at each and every single one of our locations every single day. From awards to intricate designs and large scale rushed production orders, each one of these occurrences comes together to build the foundation for the core values by which each our employee lives by every single day. It is each one of these experiences that we would like to share with you!

World Emblem International is proudly launching the new Social Media Ambassadors Project!

Employees from each one of our various locations have been chosen to function as their respective location’s representative in this project. These employees will function as ambassadors and will assist the World Emblem marketing team in the collection of information and content related to each of their respective locations that we can use to post on social media. It is our fervent hope with this project that you, both as our employee as well as our customer, will get to share these experiences with us and get a good understanding of what World Emblem International is all about.

We will post content created by these employees every week. Each post will include their name and location.

World Emblem International is proud to announce that its new company website, www.WorldEmblem.com, was officially launched January 1st, 2014. Aside from completely renovating its design, the website itself was updated to include a variety of additional content not previously available through the old version. The content itself is specifically targeted towards the site’s predominant users: current and potential customers and employees.

Additional pages were added to the website in order to house a variety of content. These pages include: a newly built “Career” section, an updated “Resources” section, maps of all World Emblem locations, customer testimonials, direct links to all World Emblem social media, including the official World Emblem blog, “The Daily Stitch,” and much more. Ultimately the goal with this project was to re-design the website to become the central source for all information relevant to the company and the interests of its constituents.

This past quarter, we placed all of our locations in direct competition with each other each week. Customers with orders from each location will be called to verify the speed, accuracy and quality of their order as well as their overall customer service experience. The location with the highest ratings received possession of the Ultimate Cup for 1 week of bragging rights before the cup moved on to the next winner. Each week a different location would be named the Ultimate Cup Champion.

Our customers are the pinnacle of our business model. They are the driving force behind what makes our company tick. This past quarter, it is because of this business model that we answered the questions of how to communicate this to every operator, QC person, shipping manager and our employees as a whole. Thus, we decided to challenge ourselves in a way we’ve never done before; all to get you as our customers the best service possible.

In the end, the location with the highest ratings at the end of the quarter would be named that quarter’s Ultimate Cup Champion. The winner of the inaugural quarter of this competition was our Florida location!Not only would the quarter champions receive posession of the Ultimate Cup, they would also get the opportunity to have a company lunch with World Emblem President / CEO Randy Carr.

Below is a photo gallery with the complete list of weekly winners as well as pictures from the Ultimate Cup Luncheon with Randy Carr.

World Emblem is proud to have President / CEO, Randy Carr, listed as one of the 75 most powerful people within the decorating industry in Stitches Magazine’s 2013 Power 75 List.

In regards to the list itself, the chosen few represent the companies and organizations who are making an impact on how everyone in the decorating industry operates. They are setting a go-to-market course for the industry as it heads in to 2014.Those in running for the list were chosen from a diverse pool of candidates including: equipment and software manufacturers, educators, decorators and digitizers and more.

Randy Carr and his team are setting the pace for 2014 through their use of automated equipment to coordinate each step of the production process as well as through their heavy investment in an advanced ordering system that allows them to handle everything from design to ordering to checking sales history to invoicing. Two years ago, Randy Carr also launched the U.S. division of Name Badges International. In doing so, he expanded his company’s product offering to digitally printed, domed tags. Sales from this division are expected to more than double in the coming year in comparison to 2012.

Introducing, the connoisseur of apparel decorations, the esteemed Professor Patch! Specializing in everything from product information to the best heat sealing techniques, he is sure to keep you up to date on everything you need to know about your garments and how to decorate them. World Emblem is working collaboratively with Professor Patch on a series of videos entitled, “Learn It In A Minute.” He will also be collaborating with The Daily Stitch as a guest blogger. Be sure to subscribe to The Daily Stitch to keep up date on the newest member to the World Emblem team.

Here is the first video in Professor Patch’s introductory “Learn It In A Minute” Series! Check out the “Meet Professor Patch” section of our website for more.